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“He’s fine.” All conversation stopped as I spoke, everyone listening intently for a tidbit of information. They wouldn’t get it, though. I hadn’t even told The Enterprise what had happened. It was none of their business. I kept things in-house because I had the tools to fix whatever came my way. I didn’t need people involved, telling me how to handle my own goddamn business.
“He’ll be home soon,” I said, leaning back in my seat. I’d barely eaten anything the last couple of days, my appetite fading away, and it frustrated the hell out of me. I never reacted like this, but something was different this time.
My gaze slid to Aida, who was frowning at me. He’d mentioned her. He’d threatened that they were coming for her. And I wondered what she would do, how she would react. I honestly had no idea. All I had was hope. Hope that she wouldn’t turn her back on me. Hope that she wouldn’t force me to do something I didn’t want to do.
I blew out a frustrated breath, hating that my mind went there. I couldn’t think about it, not now, not after we’d come this far. I wanted her here with me, at my side, fighting my battles with me, not against me. But I couldn’t quiet the small voice in my head that told me she was too good for me—too good for this life.
Her hand reached out, her gaze not moving from mine for even the briefest of seconds. “You okay?” she asked.
The question took me by surprise. No one had ever asked me that, and as I met her stare, searching her eyes for something, I found myself shaking my head no. I wasn’t okay. I wouldn’t be okay until I got my house in order. I wouldn’t be okay until I knew she was safe.
“Lorenzo.” She stood, ignoring everyone at the table as she moved toward me. She was within arm's reach, just centimeters from me, when a blast outside shook the house. I flew out of my seat, grabbing her around the waist and shoving her behind me.
Christian did the same, pushing Sofia toward Aida, and Mateo flung himself in front of Ma. Then together, we moved toward the dining-room door, but we weren’t fast enough. Hordes of uniformed agents barreled inside, their guns raised, shouting for us to put our hands in the air.
Ma started shouting in Italian, and Sofia cried out as one of the officers pushed her to the ground and onto her knees. My hands were raised, just like Christian’s and Mateo’s. We knew how to handle raids like this, but more importantly, we knew they’d never find anything, so we cooperated because the sooner we did, the quicker they would be gone.
“Get off of me!” Aida shouted, and I turned just in time to see her pushing back against a woman wearing a bulletproof vest with the letters FBI written in white on the front.
“Get down, Lorenzo Beretta,” a male agent barked at me. This wasn’t anything new to me, and because I knew there was no way they had anything against me, I got down to my knees, keeping my attention focused on Aida. Look at me, I silently told her, but she was too busy staring the female agent down. Her hands were in the air, but she refused to get down on her knees. I smirked, thinking back to two nights ago when she’d done just that for me.
The butt of a gun slammed into the side of my face, and my world spun for a fraction of a second before my head dropped down. “Fuck,” I gritted out, trying to hold my anger in.
“You were resisting,” the agent said, and when I looked up at him, he winked at me. “That’ll leave a bruise.”
“You piece of shit!” Aida shouted, diving for me, but the woman caught her, shoving her to the ground on her stomach and slapping a pair of cuffs on her. Only then did Aida look at me, eyes wide, her face pale.
“You’re under arrest,” the female agent told her, reading her rights. I cursed silently, both at the throbbing pain in my face and the fact that Aida hadn’t done what they told her to do. I should have explained what to do when being faced with any kind of law enforcement, but I doubt it would have made a difference. She was sweet, kind, sexy, but my favorite was feisty as fuck.
“We have a warrant to search the premises,” the agent who’d jammed the butt of his gun into my face said, throwing a piece of paper on the floor in front of me.
I didn’t even acknowledge it as I stared up at him. “Go right ahead.” I paused, my lips lifting into a smirk. “You won’t find anything.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He looked at the agent who held Aida pinned to the ground. “Take her down to headquarters.”
“No,” I growled, starting to stand. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”
“Yeah?” the male agent asked, stepping closer to me. His vest was the same as the woman’s, but it had an extra name badge. Agent Morgan. I stowed that name away, knowing I’d be finding out exactly who he was when they were done here.
“Go ahead, asshole. Resist her arrest and see where it lands you.”
The sound of clattering came from the kitchen, and I pulled in a deep breath, knowing they would go through every inch of the house with a fine-tooth comb—the places they could see anyway.
I turned my head, just enough to spot the agent lifting Aida from the floor, and silently tried to tell her it would be okay. However much I’d tried to keep business away from her, she knew things that could go against me. Time would tell whose side she’d be on, but deep down, I already knew she wouldn’t betray me. She was in this with me. Right?
CHAPTER 16
AIDA
The farther away from the house we drove, the more my fight drained away. The buzzing in my ears got louder, my breaths coming faster, and my hands started to tingle—the latter because of the cuffs.
The blacked-out SUV—not too dissimilar to the one Mateo drove—whizzed through the streets and toward the city. I had no idea where they were taking me, but I was relieved it was somewhere I knew. At least then I’d be able to find my way back if they ever let me go. I groaned as I looked down at my lap. I was only dressed in a pair of leggings, some slides, and one of Lorenzo’s T-shirts, sans my bra. I knew that not wearing a bra inside the house would bite me in the ass.
Tires screeched to a halt as we took a turn too fast, and the SUV wobbled. Whoever was driving was acting as though they were being chased, and maybe they were. Lorenzo said he had eyes everywhere, but somehow, deep down, I knew he’d have no idea where they were taking me either.
Part of me wished I would have done as the rest of the family had—stayed relatively quiet and did what the FBI told us to do—but my instincts when I’d seen that asshole slam his gun into Lorenzo’s face had kicked in. And now, here I was, in the back of an SUV with my wrists cuffed.
The car slammed to a stop, and my body flung forward, my face colliding with the back of the passenger seat. I felt the trickle of blood on my lip a second before I tasted it. I winced, howling as I snapped my mouth open, causing the tooth that had gone into my bottom lip to tear the sensitive skin. The trickle turned into a burst of blood, but neither of the agents said anything as they got out of the car and hauled me with them.
